Date: 22nd August 2016.
To,
His Excellency Antonio Costa,
Honb’l Prime Minister
of the Republic of Portugal,
Lisboa,
Portugal.
Your Excellency,
RE: A CRY TO STOP THE BLOODLESS
GENOCIDE OF GOANS.
We the undersigned
Goans, declare here that we, along with our homeland Goa, the erstwhile
Overseas Porvince (Provincia Ultramar) of Portugal, were officially sold to
India on behalf of Portugal, on 31st December 1974, by the
ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal – Mr. Mario Soares.
In fact what Mr. Mario
Soares signed with India on 31st December 1974 was a “Sale Deed” in
the guise of a “Treaty”. The terms of this so called Treaty were
surreptitiously decided by Mr. Mario Soares and Mr. Y.B. Chavan – the Foreign Affairs
Minister of India, in New York on 24th September 1974 and signed in New
Delhi on 31st December 1974.
The same was ratified in Lisbon on 14th March 1975. This so-called
Treaty consists of only 6 Articles, none of which unfortunately is concerning
Goans and Goa. This political manipulation of Mr. Mario Soares amounts to
willful violation of our Fundamental Human Rights, because Goans were neither
informed nor consulted to ascertain their wishes, aspirations and the safeguards
to be incorporated in this so - called Treaty.
Mr. Mario Soares the then
Prime Minister of Mr. Portugal treated Goans and Goa as a disposable
commodity. The form and the procedure to
formulate the so-called Treaty were not different from when slaves were sold by
their masters. In such Sale-Deeds, the
seller neither takes nor needs to take consent of who or what is sold and the
buyer has no obligations towards who or what she/he has bought.
And yet this so-called
Treaty, is so vastly contrary to the
Treaties signed by these very same two Nations:
1: India on 28th
May 1956, with regards Pondichery.
2: Portugal on 20th
December 1999, with regards Macau.
1: The late Prime
Minister of India, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru as Minister for Foreign Affairs, signed
a Treaty with France with regards its colony Pondicherry. This Treaty consists of XXXI (31) Articles
and VIII (8) Articles of Protocol. All
these Articles are regarding the wishes, aspirations and safeguards for the
citizens of Pondichery. These Articles
were arrived at, after a couple of years of consultations with the
representatives of the citizens of Pondichery.
The said consultations concluded on 21st October 1954 and the
Treaty was signed on 28th May 1956.
2: Portugal signed a Treaty
with China on 20th December 1999 with regards its colony Macau. This Treaty consists of 17 Clauses that fully
safeguard and respect the wishes and aspirations of the citizens of Macau. Even as of today, China does not claim to be
a Democratic Nation yet, the said Treaty is highly democratic, human and
humane. Fortunately for the citizens of Macau,
Mr. Mario Soares was not in power then!!
This treacherous
so-called “Indo-Portuguese Treaty” completed 41 harrowing years for Goans and
for our Homeland Goa, on 31st December 2015. It could not have been otherwise, since the
so-called Treaty was a conspiracy against Goans and Goa, hatched by the then Prime
Minister of Portugal Mr. Mario Soares and the Government of India. It is pertinent and necessary to take note
that Dr. Inocencio Galvao Teles – ex-Law Minister in Dr. Oliveira Salazar’s
Government, writing in the Weekly “Diabo” in 1990, asserted that the
“Indo-Portuguese Treaty is Invalid”.
i) So, what is our status as a People,
before the Community of Nations that are signatories of the “Geneva Convention”
and the “Charter of the UNO since Dr. Galvao Teles asserts that the
Indo-Portuguese Treaty is invalid?
ii) Also, since Portugal transferred its
sovereignty (“invalidly”, surreptitiously) over Goa, Daman, Diu and Nagar
Haveli to India, only on 31st December 1974, what according to the Community of Nations,
is the status of all the laws, transactions etc. taken by the Government of
India with reference to Goans and Goa, during the 13 years, prior to the so-called
“Indo -Portuguese Treaty” of December 31,
1974?
“ISN’T LIBERATION A CRUEL JOKE WHEN GOA IS IN CHAINS?”
On 19th December 2015, Goa completed 54 years of its conquest
by India from Portugal. (Supreme Court of India – Mons. Sebastiao Francisco Xavier
dos R. Monteiro V/s State of Goa A.I.R. 1970 Page 329 S.C.). This was followed,
as seen above, by the treacherous so- called “Indo-Portuguese Treaty of 31st
December 1974”.
As a direct result – with every passing day, it becomes glaringly clear
that the sole objective of both the signatories of the so called
Indo-Portuguese Treaty of 31st December 1974, was to ensure their
own individual and national interests. And in their scheme of things, Goans and
Goa were chosen as their SACRIFICIAL LAMBS!
Very ironically but not surprisingly, both India and Portugal
vociferously claim to be Democratic Nations and both are signatories of the
Charter of the UNO, Geneva Convention and Vienna Convention (Treaty).
Also, with every passing day, it becomes glaringly clear to those who are
honest enough to see the continuous, wanton destruction of all that is Goa and
Goan; and to those who are honest enough
to hear the agonizing silent cries of Goans, whose pleas and protests are
ignored, mocked at and bull-dozed, by powers-that be.
WE PLACE THE FOLLOWING, BEFORE YOUR EXCELLENCY:
i) The total area of Goa is only 3702
Sq. Kms. This scarce land of ours is
grabbed by the land-sharks from across the borders and by the Armed Forces,
using their money, political and muscle-power;
ii) Our ancient Indigenious Ghaunkari
(Communidades) Institution, zealously guarded by our ancestors and respected by
the different Dynasties that ruled Goa over thousands of years, as well as by the Portuguese Government during its
451 years of rule, are now being systematically dismantled, despite our written
and verbal protests;
iii)
Our lives and limbs are in perpetual
danger, even though from the time of the
conquest of Goa by the government of India , we had to fix Iron-Grills on our Windows and Door
and Iron-Shutters on our commercial establishments.
iv)
Our moveable and immoveable
properties are robbed by those who descend upon Goa, even by vehicles from across our borders and/or by taking advantage of our
still – trusting nature.
v) Our peaceful, happy, convivial relationships
among all Goans, regardless of our religious affiliations, are being poisoned
by communal virus by all shades of Right
– Wing Organisations, that have set base in Goa.
vi)
Anxiety and fear rules our hearts and
minds;
vii)
The population of Goans that was
about six (6) lakhs in 1961 is now well beyond fourteen (14) lakhs of which the
population of Non-Goans is over 50% and literally growing daily, in leaps and bounds;
viii)
Because we are a peaceful,
non-violent, civilized people, unable and unaccustomed to killing, burning,
rioting, we feel alone and forsaken by the Community of Nations, despite them undoubtedly
being aware of the misery and injustice heaped on us.
The frightening process
and real-time prospects of eliminating Goa and Goans – a veritable GENOCIDE – is stated bluntly among many others, by two
Goans who worked and fought to end the Portuguese rule in Goa:
1. Mr. Lambert Mascharenhas a senior journalist, published in 1955 while in
Bombay, a much-read novel titled:
“SORROWING LIES MY LAND”
Now in Goa a centenarian, published another novel in 1988 titled:
“THE GREATER TRAGEDY”.
Both the titles are self explanatory and clearly reveal Mr. Mascharenhas’
sentiments about his “Land”, then and now.
He even made an open statement in the local Press saying that “he
preferred the Goa of the Portuguese days”.
2. Mr. Prabakhar Sinari as a stridden, brave teenager then, joined “Azad
Gomantak Dal”, the only organization
that believed in and used arms to end the Portuguese rule in Goa. Some of them including Prabakar Sinari paid
for their actions by serving time in jail. Daring as he was, made good his
escape, in a dramatic second attempt!
This same Mr. Prabakhar Sinari now laments in an article “Quo Vadis Goa?”
published in the local daily The Navhind Times.
Among other observation in his article, he says:
1.
“Looking at the liberated Goa, 54
years after the Portuguese left our shores, the sons of the soil are the ones
who have been left high and dry. It is
therefore not surprising that they chose to leave Goa most of them permanently”;
2.
“Look at the very things are being
allowed here, Goa is on the verge of losing its identity. In fact, Goa has
already lost on many counts”;
3.
“As a matter of fact, this
development by permitting major change in demography, raises a pertinent
question in the minds of all surviving freedom fighters including me”;
“Is this the Goa for which we made so many sacrifices?”
4.
“Time is fast ticking”.
5.
“Getting a “Special Status” for Goa
could be one of the major solutions.
States like Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and then some more in
the North – East have this previllege”.
The reality however
about Goa getting “Special Status” from the government of India, as Mr. Prabakhar
Sinari suggests, is wishful thinking, “a mirage”, as the
present Chief Minister of Goa recently stated in public. This despite the
long drawn People’s Movements; an unanimous Resolution passed in the
Legislative Assembly of Goa; Public Meetings; Conferences; Large Number of
Publications; a Private Member Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabah (Upper House)
by our Member of Parliament (Shantaram Naik).
The Government of India
made its stand very clear by a letter written by the Minister for Home to Mr.
Naik that the demand (by Goa) for “Special Status” is “unconstitutional and
unacceptable as per Article 19 of the Constitution”.
The reason for the
plight of Goans, including the rejection of our demand for “Special Status” is because
we are a CONQUERED PEOPLE and conquered
people have NO RIGHTS but ONLY DUTIES towards the CONQUEROR. Conquered people cannot make demands, but be satisfied
with whatever the conqueror may give, out of his own sweet will and pleasure. India therefore has no obligation towards us,
other than perhaps occasionally offering and/or promising to offer us some socio-political
Lollipops, in an attempt to make us believe that we are free, that we are liberated, that everything is
wonderful for us….
In the light of our
tragic plight, worsened manifold by the Government of Portugal by its so-called
Treaty on 31st December 1974, we
assert that it is the moral duty of the Government of Portugal to do
whatever needs to be done – politically, diplomatically – including officially
Re-visiting the treacherous so – called Indo-Portuguese Treaty, thereby
hopefully averting a HOLOCAUST of Goans.
We believe that governance
is a continuous process and that the Government of Your Excellency will not let
our plea and our cry go unheeded. We are
well aware that the “Developed Nations” in particular, are acutely conscious
and concerned about injustice, destruction and brutalities faced by many, who
are unable to defend and/or protect themselves.
As the valiant Mr. Prabakhar
Sinari writes in his article “Quo Vadis Goa?”
“TIME IS FAST TICKING”
Indeed it is. Hopefully, if your Excellency and the Community
of Nations urgently take up our desperate cause, because you believe in
Universal Justice and that the Human Rights of Goans too must be upheld, then
the silent and progressively not-so-silent cries of our people, our children - born and yet to be born, shall
not be snuffed.
With Respect and admiration,
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Sergio Carvalho: Political/Social
Analyst & Commentator.
A.Veronica Fernandes: Human Rights
Campaigner and writer.
Bosco De Souza
Eremita: Former Correspondent of Lusa.
Eurico Mascharenhas: Activist for Indigenous Rights.
Antonio Alvares: Educationist and Researcher.
LIBERTY APTS. 202,
FEIRA – ALTA,
MAPUSA – BARDEZ,
GOA – 403507,
INDIA.
Goa.
NB: This letter was personally handed over to the Portuguese Consul in Panjim on 22.08/16 by all the above signatories.
